Nec LCD 1970GX
Can you guess what new screen I am? Here are a few hints: I am a product of the NEC R&D department, have an 8 ms panel and feature a technology developed by Sony that involves brightness and filters. If you said the LCD1970GX, a great screen bound too please gamers, you were right!
Ergonomics 
Awesome! There is a nice design and the body is very thin. It also features:
- One USB hub 2 ports one the left side (very useful for USB keys),
- A double DVI, analogical interface
- A turning plate to turn the screen towards another user.
- A vertically adjustable stand
- A cable guide on the back to keep your desk clean.
It only lacks a pivot mode, a simple system to place it on the wall, and a “zero dead pixel” warranty.
NB : the OptiClear « technology » reinforces backlighting and adds a filter panel to direct light towards the user, strengthening brightness. The main downside is a quite bothersome mirroring effect under certain conditions.
Color qualityThe 1960GX clearly isn’t a monitor for graphic designers, because it’s too bright. Therefore, we will only stay with a color temperature of 6500K, which is recommended for games, video or work.
With pre-settingsThe monitor offers four preset modes accessible directly via a
RESET/DV Mode control on the front of the screen. This control successively changes from DV Mode OFF to DV 1, 2 and 3. Theoretically, each one is suited for a particular use : 1 for games, 3 for movies, etc. In practice, use the off for texts, 1 for games and forget about the rest.
NEC says its brightness is theoretically 400 cd/m². This figure should surprise more than one user. What’s the interest of such a number, when CRTs have never been over 100 cd/m and have always been the reference for color quality ²? The answer is that colors are more vivid and actually quite flashy. The colorimeter shows white at 361 cd/m²! However, such a brightness has one drawback. Black is actually dark gray (0.51 cd/m²). This is a problem for graphic designers but not for other users.
How to interpret the graph ? The X axis is 0 to 100, where 0 is black and 100 is white.
When Delta E > 3, the desired colors is noticeably different from the one on the screen.
When 1 < Delta E < 2 colors are accurate. When Delta E < 1 the result is perfect.
You may need some time to get used to work and play with such brightness and vivid colors, especially if you were a CRT owner. As this luminosity might bother some, we decided to bypass the proposed settings and manually change contrast and brightness. After a couple of attempts, we obtained a contrast of 40 and a brightness of 60. Here, white was at 231 cd/m² and black at 0.35 cd/m², and the accuracy graph remains correct:
Viewing anglesIt’s a TN screen and not one of the best in this area despite product claims. For vertical angles, under 10° from below the image already starts to darken. From above, it’s better not to go over 35°. We feel that the vertical viewing angle is only 45°, far from the 155° claimed by NEC.
From each side the picture is satisfactory until 40° and acceptable until 60°. Over this limit, with the mirroring effect and reduction in brightness reduction it’s not really usable. The real usable vertical viewing angle is 120 ° instead of the claimed 170°.
This all comes from the method of measuring viewing angles and we will go in to depth on this subject in future articles. But as you may already know we think buyers can be misled in this area.
Games
It’s excellent! As we saw with the
Sony HS-74P which features the same technology, the 1970GX has a striking depth effect in games. Mountains, ravines, and the landscape, everything seems to have more volume and you become more immersed in the game. This is already a good aspect, but in addition the screen is very reactive and afterglow is minimal. It’s one of the best and comparable to the Hyundaï and Samsung 913N that we reviewed in the 19” comparative test. This is normal considering it features the same panel, the Samsung TN 8 ms. The probability of finding this panel was quite high, because this is the only manufacturer currently able to produce such a fast panel.
This monitor is perfect for all type of games, FPS included.
Video
Oh no !!! This screen isn’t good at all for video. The black strips above and under the picture become a perfect mirror for anyone watching the movie, viewing angles are reduced and the twinkling effect disturbingly present.
VerdictThe LCD1960GX is a screen exclusively for gaming, a use for which it’s almost perfect and it will meet all your requirements. It may be difficult to imagine the picture quality that we described above until you actually see it for yourself. And it’s one of those rare screens that is great for games and also has good ergonomics. We don’t recommend it for work or movies, however.
The last thing is the price. Almost 700€ for a 17” monitor is too much these days. For that amount of money you can have an excellent 20” monitor (as we explained in our last LCD comparative test). And if you don’t especially like the mirroring effect there is the Hyundaï L90D+ and Samsung 913N, featuring the same panel and are less expensive. NEC isn’t planning to sell tons of these, but they are looking to attract the most demanding (and wealthier) gamers. The price is very high and we hope that it will go down in the near future.
Take a look at this manufacture’s dead pixel policy by clicking here! 
